As the gate to the pen is flung open, all hell breaks
loose. Whirling a lasso clumsily around my head,
I panic as a dozen goats jostle for space inside the
cramped enclosure. Hurling the rope forward, I miss
my nearest target by a metre, prompting hoots of laughter from
the watching crowd. Grabbing the horns of a nearby goat, I'm
suddenly embroiled in a ludicrous tussle of man versus beast,
which sends me tumbling face down into the dust, limbs burning
with exertion. Clearly, the life of a cowboy is tougher than it looks.
HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER
Here at Lochenbar Station ranch in Biloela, Queensland, the goat
rodeo has become the stuff of legend. Designed to give travellers a
taste of outback life, the event is the brainchild of Alan and Carol
Sandilands who opened the 4000-hectare property to tourism in
1993. Set on the fringes of Kroombit Tops National Park, this is
proper outback territory: wild, beautiful and miles from anywhere.
Overseeing matters is Sandilands's son-in-law, Andrew
Clapper. Dressed head-to-toe in denim with a black akubra and
red bandana, he's your archetypal outback Aussie: tough as nails
with an acerbic wit and macho attitude. Already, Clapper has
initiated me with a quad bike tour of the property, a crash course
in clay target shooting and the art of lassoing livestock. He's also
suggested I try my hand at mustering goats on horseback.
The sun is blazing as I navigate a black stock horse named
Beuwey across vast desert plains dotted with gum trees and
scrub. The landscape here is almost Martian, red sand stretching
to the horizon punctuated only by burnt-out trees or the
EASY RIDER
From mustering goats in outback Biloela to touring the twin township of Agnes
Water and 1770 on bike, Central Queensland is the place for intrepid travellers.
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY GUY WILKINSON
068 | virginaustralia